VITA
Versatile, with a shimmering warm voice and compelling stage presence Austrian Soprano Martha Harreiter instantly captivates her listeners.
From angelic spheres to melancholic dreams Martha Harreiter exudes beauty, light and excitement from the very first note.
Specialized in Lied repertoire, the colourful soprano is Fellow of the Heidelberg Lied Academy with Thomas Hampson and holds scholarships of the Int. Summer Academy Mozarteum with Wolfgang Holzmair and the Music Academy Tyrol with Stephan Lademann.
Upcoming concerts include the 3rd edition of the Chamber Music Festival “Joie de vivre” in Vienna as well as a performance about "Voicing the Unvoiced in Song Cycles" together with Emily Gallagher (Voice) and Donna Chan (Piano). Also, Martha Harreiter will premiere her new Lied program with works by W.A. Mozart together with the Swedish Pianist Daniel Beskow in Sweden and Austria. Solo masses and oratorio concerts complete the current concert season.
In 2022, Martha Harreiter worked together with Joseph Avila and Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg for Chamber Music Programs, sang at the 2nd edition of the Chamber Music Festival “Joie de vivre” and made her debut as soloist in several works by W.A. Mozart (such as Exsultate, jubilate and Mozart’s Requiem) in Vienna. During the great intermission caused by the COVID19 pandemic Martha Harreiter stayed in touch with her audience by hosting live stream concerts from her living room. She also dedicated herself to promoting the works of female composers at Thomas Hampson’s World of Song on IDAGIO. In addition, she designed new Lied programs and engaged in the development of interdisciplinary art projects.
Martha Harreiter made her debut on stage 2017 in Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Pariser Leben at Theater an der Rott (Germany). There she also performed in a stage version of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. 2017 she sang at the world premiere of Larry Coryell's jazz opera Anna Karenina with the Russian Philharmonic in Kaluga (Russia).
Within the oratorio repertoire Martha Harreiter performed, amongst others, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Great Mass in C minor under the baton of Erwin Ortner, Mozart's Coronation Mass with the Vienna Ensemble and Felix Mendelssohn's hymn "Hör mein Bitten" for solo soprano and choir in concerts in Vienna and Stockholm (Sweden). Martha Harreiter got re-invited to the Theater an der Rott in 2019 with an Offenbach Revue by Caspar Richter. In spring 2020 she should have made her debut at the International Baroque Festival Melk in the opera "Dido and Aneas" by Henry Purcell. Due to the safety regulations caused by the Corona-crisis the production under KS Michael Schade, together with the Concentus Musicus Vienna had to be cancelled.
Calling Lied a matter very close to her heart, Martha Harreiter has been singing Lied recitals in Vienna, Salzburg, Heidelberg, Berlin, Stockholm and many more locations. Her repertoire spans from the Early Baroque, to the Viennese Classic and the Romantic period (Lied, Mélodie) up to contemporary songs. She has been working, amongst others, with the accompanists Stephan Matthias Lademann, Markus Hadulla, Ammiel Bushakevitz, Yuto Kiguchi, Joseph Avila, Stephen Delaney and Daniel Beskow.
Born and raised in Graz, Martha Harreiter first studied with Horiana Branisteanu at Mozarteum Salzburg and with Christa Ratzenböck at the Anton Bruckner Private University. She completed her studies in 2018 with Rannveig Braga-Postl at University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Since then she has been working with Julie Kaufmann in Berlin and Tanya Aspelmeier in Vienna. Martha Harreiter attended masterclasses with, amongst others, Thomas Hampson, Wolfgang Holzmair, Graham Johnson, Emma Kirkby and Helene Schneiderman. In 2022 she got selected for the Margreet Honig Summer Academy. Martha Harreiter studied baroque singing techniques with María Cristina Kiehr and has been working on historical performance practice with Stefan Gottfried and KS Michael Schade.
Martha Harreiter holds a diploma for voice teachers from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.Martha Harreiter held a student’s scholarship by the foundation “Vita Activa” which organises concerts in old people's homes and care facilities in and around Vienna. She joined the international singers initiative “Living Opera” supporting colleagues, sharing knowledge and building a dialogue within the singer’s global industry. Also, she graduated from Salzburg Law School with distinction.
In her free time Martha Harreiter enjoys working on her family’s farm in Austria. Also, she loves reading Rilke poems – ideally in the summers lying underneath a calm, widespread treetop.
Spring 2023